“I feel very surprised and responsible,” said Pellegrino. “We cannot hide what we were today, we played a terrible game. No one expected it in a game of such importance against a direct rival."

“It was perhaps our best performance, along with [the 3-0 win over] Zenit St Petersburg, and the score could even have been wider," beamed Pellegrini. "The team played a spectacular match, moving the ball well. It was a complete performance for 90 minutes."